California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 61,869 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 750,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,869 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $28,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,871,000 after acquiring an additional 720,587 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,306,000 after acquiring an additional 478,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $44.67 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.67 and its 200 day moving average is $36.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.